One key factor of intelligence that's overlooked by 99% of the people

[Fredo Corleone]

Hi guys,

I want to talk about a topic that I'm studying/experimenting for a while now, and from my own experience it's the single most impactful factor that explains changes in my mood and intelligence.

In this post I will try to give an overview on the Gut-Brain axis (the so called Mind-Gut connection), what it does and how it's related to mood and cognition.

A brain in the gut: The little brain

Findings from the last 10 years of scientific research on the gut proved the existence of an intimate connection between the gut and the brain: 100M nerve cells spread out through the entire length of the gut, they use the same neurotrasmitters and are connected by neural pathways directly to the brain.

Those 100M nerve cells mentioned above compose the vagus nerve, which is responsible for the bidirectional communiction between the gut and the brain.

Scientists working on this subject refer to the gut as the little brain.
I guess the definition of Little Brain comes from studies conducted on rats have shown that severing the vagus nerve doesn't compromise the autonomous functioning of the gut.

The role of Serotonin

One major thing that the gut is responsible for is the production of serotonin: "Approximately 90% of the human body's total serotonin is located in the enterochromaffin cells in the GastroIntestinal tract" - Wikipedia.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter which has many receptors in the body.

The role of said receptors is to regulate many key aspects that influence human behavior and cognition:

- Aggression (agonists ↓)
- Anxiety (antagonists ↓)
- Dopamine in the prefrontal cortex (agonists ↑)
- Dopamine release into the mesocorticolimbic pathway (agonists ↓)
- Acetylcholine release in the prefrontal cortex (agonists ↑)
- Dopaminergic and noradrenergic activity in the frontal cortex (antagonists ↑)
- Antidepressant effects (agonists & antagonists ↑ depending on the receptor)
- Memory & learning (agonists ↑)
- Memory consolidation

You can find the whole list at Serotonin: Biological Role - Wikipedia.

Most antidepressant drugs are Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (aka SRI), that means they inhibit the reabsorption of serotonin so that more of it is available for receptors to do their job.

That said it should be evident that serotonin is very crucial in mood regolation, specifically making you feeling good.

The problem with SRI is that they often cause GastroIntestinal disfunction and lead to more harm than good.

Now that we established that serotonin is key for mood and cognition and that SRI pharmaceuticals are not a viable answer to fix the issue of low serotonin the question may arise: how on earth am I supposed to raise serotonin naturally?

The importance of gut bacteria

Studies show that bacteria in the gut is responsible for triggering 60% of the production of serotonin, and up to 95% of the whole body production of serotonin happens in the GI tract which is where this bacteria resided, this is no coincidence.

Increasing the amount and variety of good bacteria populations in your gut leads to better and more efficient production of what you need to feel good, including serotonin.

Another findings that's very recently discovered and worth mentioning is the presence of a microbiome (bacteria populations) inside the brain, which is composed of the same strains of bacteria found in the gut.
This finding is very revolutionary as it abolishes notions regarding the Blood-Brain Barrier.

The advice is to take pre and pro biotics.

Anedotic evidence

From my personal experience my mood and cognition is 100% defined from my GastroIntestinal situation, that may be the same for you but perhaps you didn't know it.

I experimented a lot with diet and pre/pro biotic food and supplements and I came to the firm conclusion that a poor diet, which has no pre biotic food and the lack of a well diversified microbiome in my gut, leads to extreme demotivation, lack of intelligence, brain fog, forgetfulness and bad mood.

On the other hand a diet with good pre biotic vegetables and the addition of pro biotic supplements make me feel so much better, increases memory and mental sharpness, it also increases my willpower tremendously.

I didn't came across anything that magical.

I leave it to you to try!

Recap/key takeaways

1) Serotonin is key for you to feel good;

2) 90% of the serotonin is produced in the gut;

3) 60% of serotonin production is stimulated by gut bacteria;

4) The gut and the brain are connected via the vagus nerve;

5) Serotonin signals travels from the gut to the brain where they regulate emotions;

6) Taking pre and pro biotics in the right amounts can increase well-being.

Thanks for reading

[Magnum Magner]

The brain-gut axis is very important indeed. But if what I remember is correct, the serotonin produced in the gut does not reach the brain, as it does not bypass the blood-brain barrier. So, serotonin produced in the gut does not affect mood, at least not directly. 

I did not read those papers, but they may provide you with some insight:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001457931500455X#:~:text=Because%20serotonin%20does%20not%20cross,be%20an%20attractive%20therapeutic%20strategy. - " The roles of peripheral serotonin in metabolic homeostasis"

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7659911/ - "Does Seratonin in the intestines make you happy?"

[Fredo Corleone]

That's true, as you pointed out the key role of serotonin is to be a signaling molecule which seems to play a vital role in both the gut itself (mechanically speaking) and the interconnection between the gut and the brain (as a factor that allows communication).
Studies observed that alterations in brain-gut-microbiome communication is linked to the pathogenesis of gut issues and several psychiatric and neurologic disorders.

[Fredo Corleone]

The above to say that if a dysfunction of the brain-gut connection is caused by an improper production of serotonin and that leads to, possibly, neurological and psychological disorders, then maybe fixing its production by nurishing your gut microbiome could fix the issue.
That's what happened with me: by fixing my GI issues, with the help of pre and probiotics, I've fixed several issues I had in my brain (bloating, brain fog, lack of willpower, ...).

Il giorno lunedì 6 giugno 2022 alle 18:55:32 UTC+2 magnum...@gmail.com ha scritto:

[BM XT]

What do you know about food that is causing inflammation? 

And what do you think about Dave Asprey's diet roadmap?

вторник, 7 июня 2022 г. в 15:03:40 UTC+5, stopchemt...@gmail.com:

[Fredo Corleone]

I can clearly feel when I'm eating too much omega6 and too little omega3, and for that I take, each other day, omega3 supplement.
I don't know about the Dave Asprey's diet, I'll check out! Thanks

[Qwerty]

https://drdavisinfinitehealth.com/2018/01/lactbacillus-reuteri-key-youthfulness/

https://drdavisinfinitehealth.com/2018/04/make-l-reuteri-yogurt/

[Fredo Corleone]

Thanks! I'm reading those RN